Mindfulness, or Plain Full Attention?

There are fairly new terms invented by certain communities that serve well to sell books, as in a way, they seem to reveal development of  new concepts but in reality it merely  describes in a fancy way, something quite simple with an old concept. There are several, but today I write about “mindfulness”  - this word someone invented , wrapped around an elaborated concept whilst - Mindfulness, or Plain Full Attention - simply and plainly,  means paying full attention.

According to  Psychologytoday.com   -  Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.

According to Wikipedia   -  Mindfulness is defined as moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, characterized mainly by "acceptance" - attention to thoughts and feelings without judging whether they are right or wrong.

I remember being in first grade, I was about six years old,  and the teacher told my mother I was a good student but my problem was not always paying attention, as I seemed to often be in a state of daydreaming! At that time I was too young to understand what she meant by that or to even disagree; at that time kids were taught to have no opinion…anyway! But if I remember this after so many years it’s because it is something that marked me, it was the first perception I had of being misunderstood. 

Looking back, comparing with the way I still am today, I am the kind of person who is almost always living in the present moment and paying full attention to me and to everything else that goes around me! Yes, I am the kind of person who sees the wildflowers along the road where others will say: Flowers? What flowers? Yes, I am the kind of person who sees the birds flying and many times greets them as they go by.

I use all my senses to pay full attention, but I do have some sort of impatience (hey I am working on it…), when people lose track of what they are saying or doing, so I lose interest, momentarily, and turn on my daydreaming mode until they finish. In my daydreaming moments I fly to heaven and then come back.

People are often misunderstood – the ones like me are misunderstood falling into the category of daydreamers, and the others who are constantly in a chitchat either with themselves or with others, the ones who never see the flowers along the road, fall into the category of what? It doesn’t matter because I learned not to judge and learned to transfer the old judgment thoughts to simple observations in order to improve and evolve.

This long introduction to state that - very early in age I was a good observer and listener and learned mostly from these two faculties. I was able to, in my silence make my own choices after observing and listening. I was able to absorb what was convenient to learn and discard what I did not like. I did all of this from very early age and have vivid memories about certain situations.

I was always present; I was always paying attention, as I am today! People say I am good at details – well, one can only be good in details if one pays attention to even the little things…yeah…even the tiny wildflowers along the road! Others say I am picky, and they don’t care about details! There are even others who say - I don´t have time for that!

So, I am sorry to spoil the party of people who write books about mindfulness, as there was, and will always be, the ones who pay attention, and the ones who are a little distracted, as well as the ones who are always with their heads up in the air.

There will always be the ones who care about details, and the ones who don´t!

While I am totally content with certain little pleasures that are happening in the now,  others consider it  boring or not having patience for! 

There will never be the perfect formula equal to everyone. 

And so what? All is good! To each his own!

I consider I miss less in life because I do observe everything or at least I think I do!

In the age of multitasking it is not easy to pay attention to everything and use the so called mindfulness, and it is here that I think people should stop to think and try to change a bit.

There are serious dangers in multitasking, like driving and talking on a cell phone, or on an energy level, a mother breastfeeding while arguing with someone. On a less serious note, within the recent need society has to be always busy, most people need someone to teach them to just stay put and pay attention.

People are often unable to stop to think in what they are doing in the moment because they are way too busy thinking of something else! Their minds are going a mile a minute and when you ask: - what are you doing? They stop for a split moment asking: What?

Being in the present moment has without a doubt become further from the reality of the multitaskers! Way too many mistakes are made, simply because, people are so busy in the past and future they can´t  concentrate on the now. 

The incapacity to be in the present moment -  paying attention,  is like an endemic disease,  that tells us, people are scared to stop and think not in the past, not for tomorrow but just in the moment; so they busy themselves in anything or everything and if this was not enough they teach kids to do the same. People rush and go somewhere, always somewhere and anywhere – being afraid of something that might happen someday.  

It is so sad to hear a kid say: What do I do now? I am bored!

People have lost the ability of simple observation and there is so much to observe now!

Whatever one calls it Mindfulness, or Plain Full Attention it is something to think about; whether one is making the right choices or just running around throughout  the years, giving excuses on top of excuses in order not to be present in the moment that is NOW is also something to think about.

While one is not sure of anything, one must have faith in everything, and for this one must be fully present, now!

Much love and light!